If you are looking for a great place to shop, check out The Helicopter Daughter! This is one of my favorite wellness shops and they are right in the Matchworks Building by our studio! Karen is the owner and she does a great job of making you feel welcome and answering all your questions. She has the place decorated so cute and quaint and she has a great selection of items to choose from.

The Helicopter Daughter was created out of a desire to help others focus on finding ways to implement self-care moments into their daily lives. At The Helicopters Daughter, they believe that self-care isn’t selfish. It’s about finding ways to keep life in balance and giving others the best of you, instead of what is left of you.

They offer all kinds of products for mind, body and spirit…

• Teas can aid in digestion, fight off free radicals, increase antioxidants and help to relax.
• Journals help you connect to your values, emotions and goals and can help to reduce anxiety.
• Faith-Oriented and spiritually inspiring products.
• Fun and inspirational t-shirts and accessories.
• Natural soaps, lotions, facial creams, cleansers as well as items to help you feel special.
• Shower and Bath products including bombs, Epsom salts, candles and many wonderful items to create that much needed down time.

Have you ever tried Guided Imagery? At my old job, one of the presenters did a talk on guided imagery and how it can help reduce stress. I have to admit, I thought this was the hokiest thing ever. You listen to this person guiding you through things to imagine and it is supposed to relax you… OK???

The first several times that I listened to her talk, I closed my eyes like she said to do and I used that time to think of all the things that I wanted to get done after work. I wasn’t giving the guided imagery a fair chance to work, I just played along because it was my job.

After listening to this so many times I noticed myself starting to imagine being at the beach and I noticed when she had us open our eyes… I felt a little different. The next time I thought I would really give this a chance to see what it really is about. When she turned out the lights, I closed my eyes and this time I really listened and I actually tried to follow along.

Now when I imagined being at the beach it was like I could hear the waves crashing and I could feel the sun beating down on my skin…It was like I was really there! When it was over and I opened my eyes, I felt completely relaxed. Maybe there really was something to this? The more I did it the faster I could get my mind to imagine all these relaxing things and the better I felt.
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The key for me, was finding a guided imagery with a relaxing voice that guided me to what I wanted to experience. If you find the right voice, it makes all the difference.  

​If you’ve never experienced a salt cave you are in for a treat. We went to the Himalayan Salt Cave in Mentor. Our whole family piled into the salt cave for a relaxing experience.

Want to know what to expect? You take your shoes off and walk on the salt pebble floor to one of the reclining chairs. Then Debbie, the owner, gives you warm salt balls to target your sore spots. Remember to bring your blanket because as you relax the room will seem cool. After you get all comfy, they play soft music and the salt mist fills the air. It is very relaxing watching the salt wall change colors as you breath in the salty air. The smell reminds me of sitting on the beach on our favorite island.
We were all healthy when we went but if you have a cold or sinus issues the cave is supposed to really help you breathe better.
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We took the whole family but the cave experience would also be a great idea for a girls night out, a girls birthday party treat, or simply a relaxing night for mom. Although, I will say the guys in our family enjoyed the experience too!  

​A big part of wellness for me is learning new things and getting out of your comfort zone. Have you ever tried EAL? What is EAL? I didn’t understand what it was until I actually did it. EAL stands for Equine Assisted Learning.

What I got out of it was understanding life lessons thru working with horses. This was both educational and fun at the same time.

We started off in a classroom-like setting, learning about how we are similar and different to horses. Then we got to groom and work with the ponies. It was fun to learn how to read what the pony was trying to tell you non-verbally.

My favorite part was going to the pasture to do the obstacle course. One of the activities we did was getting your pony to stand on a glove. My daughter got hers to do it right away, but it took me forever to get mine to listen to me! This was my biggest take away from the day for me. My pony wasn’t listening to me because I was looking back at him instead of looking forward. I learned that to lead a horse you need to look the direction you want to go, which also translates into life. Always look forward at things to come instead of looking back with regrets.

Other activities we did were getting the pony to go backwards, walking them around cones, getting them to stop moving. and learning how to change their harness. Although, I think the funniest thing of the night was when my pony just laid down and started rolling on the ground! Everyone was laughing but it turns out that ponies do that when they are really relaxed around you.

Doing EAL was a great experience for the whole family. We all learned a lot and had fun doing it. It was also amazing to me how you forget about everything else going on in your life while you are doing this. I was definitely a great stress-relieving activity!  
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If you are looking for a different activity. give EAL a try. Karen has lots of fun and different programs to fit everyone’s interests. Give her a call at 330/507-5172.

My wellness journey started when my daughter got sick. Back then we were in crisis mode and I was overwhelmed and exhausted! This is not the way I would advise anyone to do it, but we had no choice. I made a ton of mistakes and I tried a lot of things that didn’t work for us. Now that “crisis” mode is over I’m still on a wellness journey but at a more relaxed pace, and I will tell you this is the way to go!

My idea of wellness is broken up into 8 categories… Bemer, Eat Well, Exercise, Give Back, Have Fun, Reduce Stress, Take Vacations and Use Clean Products. I came up with these because I want to have an enjoyable balanced life and these are what my family does to achieve that.

We Bemer every day, twice a day… just like you brush your teeth. It takes 8 minutes twice a day to help our bodies achieve good circulation which I’ve learned is the key to good health.

My approach to eating well is eating things that we still like but making them a little healthier as we go. I want to gradually introduce better foods so we don’t crave the stuff that we gave up. It’s like losing weight… if you do it gradually you are more likely to keep that weight off.

Exercise doesn’t need to be just done in a gym. If you like to work out in a gym… great! If not, make something work for you to get yourself up and moving. My family plays volleyball together and my husband and I like to walk every day.

Giving back is also an important part of our lives. I feel it is important to do things to help others. It makes you feel good and it lets you appreciate what you have.

Have FUN! This one is a big one for me. I believe that life needs to be fun so find things that you like and enjoy yourself!

Reduce stress. Stress is so bad for you. Some stress in your life you can’t avoid so make a conscious effort to eliminate the stress that you can have control over. There are lots of enjoyable ways to reduce stress… guided imagery, yoga, working in the garden, getting a massage, are just a couple examples.

Take vacations. This is another big one for me. I think it is important to get away. I like to have vacations to look forward to and I also like the break from all the day to day stuff that goes on in our lives. Vacations don’t have to be huge or long. When we were first married, we would take trips down to Amish for an overnight or just go to a local hotel to get away.

My last category is to use clean products. The last couple months I’ve really tried to eliminate a lot of the chemicals that were in my house. I’ve found some great alternatives that work really well for us and I will share those with you.
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These are my approaches to wellness. They didn’t come overnight, and they are what is right for my family. My idea is to share what I’ve learned with you. Don’t overwhelm yourself with trying to do everything at once, and if something that I do isn’t right for you, then that’s is fine too!
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Hi. My name is Patty Sulik. I’m a mom that had a sick child. Nothing is worse than having a sick child and not knowing how to help them. It is frustrating, exhausting, overwhelming, and nothing I ever want to experience again. I tried anything and everything to get her better.  I started working with wellness professionals, researched ways to cook with better foods, and looked into healthier products to use.  Lots of trials and error got me where I am today.

I came up with 8 wellness approaches to keep my family balanced and I will share my approaches on all of these with you. These include Bemer, eat well, exercise, have fun, reduce stress, use clean products, take vacations, and give back. In my experience, there is no one quick fix to get yourself healthy. It is a process. The process might be slow but it is well worth it in the end.

One of the best things I found in my journey was a wellness device called a Bemer. This device helped me get my daughter better and now I love having it for all those daily issues that come up from illness to injury. This company has a mission to get a Bemer in every home and now that is my mission too! This device has completely changed our lives and I’m so grateful to have my family using this as a wellness tool to keep everyone happy and healthy. Let’s see what this can do for your family together!